Tessa Baldwin, for MASS Certificate of Academic Excellence
The Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) Certificate of Academic Excellence is an annual award given to high school seniors who have demonstrated academic excellence and contributed to their school communities.
Tessa Baldwin, this year’s nominee, is a strong and conscientious student leader. She has taken Monument’s most demanding courses and performed at the top of her class. During her junior year, her schedule prevented her from taking AP Biology, so she took it online through Brigham Young University and earned an A.
This past summer, Tessa did an internship with David Scribner, co-founder and Editor in Chief of The Berkshire Edge. In addition to her class workload this semester, she is completing an online creative writing course. Tessa is a captain of the girls’ soccer team this fall, which is boasting a 10–1 record.
Tessa has worked as a camp counselor at Berkshire Botanical Gardens and as a food-prep assistant in her mom’s catering business. She co-leads an annual service trip to the Dominica School and Orphanage in the Dominican Republic. She is editor-in-chief of Monument’s yearbook this year and of the school’s newspaper, The Maroon Tribune. She is also a member of Monument’s Student and Adult Advisory Board to the Principal. Tessa is articulate, kind, humble, blessed with a good sense of humor, and is well deserving of this award.
Eriel Dominguex for DAR Good Citizens Award
Eriel Dominguez is the recipient of the DAR Good Citizens Award, which was created in 1934 to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. It recognizes high school seniors who have been nominated by teachers and fellow students for their qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities.
Eriel has been an outstanding leader among his peers since arriving at Monument. He is a member of the National Honor Society, has served as a mentor and counselor for younger students in Monument’s CLEO summer program, and is now captain of the football team. Along with his academic program at Monument, Eriel has taken advantage of the dual enrollment partnership with Berkshire Community College, taking courses in economics and history.
In his junior year, Eriel was the recipient of the highly competitive Chang Chavkin Scholarship and the Rensselaer Medal for Math and Science, sponsored by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Eriel is a member of the Student Adult Advisory Board (SAAB), contributes to the Maroon Tribune school newspaper, volunteers for Charley’s Fund, and was selected to represent Monument at the 411–413 Berkshire County Youth Leadership Conference. He also works with his father’s landscaping and home-improvement business. He is planning to attend college for engineering and business.
The New England School Development Council (NESDEC) Award for Academic Growth and Student Leadership in Learning
NESDEC is a network of regional school study councils that supports excellence, equity, and continuous educational improvement. This award is presented to high school seniors who have consistently pursued a high level of academic effort and have served as positive role models for the student body. Recipients of the award exemplify admirable character and accomplishment.
Bronly Boyd
Bronly Boyd’s accomplishments at Monument include his serving as co-founder and leader of the school’s Student Adult Advisory Board Steering Committee and the Academic Advancement Subcommittee. He is co-president of Student Government and a member of Monument’s National Honor Society and has mentored and tutored a number of students both in and out of school. He has been a volunteer with Charley’s Fund and was the recipient of the Cornell Book Award at last year’s junior awards ceremony. He was selected to represent Monument at the Hugh O’Brian Young Leaders Conference and traveled with a district group to San Diego for a week-long visit to progressive high schools.
Bronly took on a major role in helping to improve Monument’s shift to proficiency-based learning through independent studies with Ms. Hernandez and the Rethinking Grading Initiative. He collected and analyzed data on student learning and results to the school district and at both state and regional conferences. Beyond his academic program, Bronly is a committed and accomplished athlete, playing varsity lacrosse for Monument’s Coop team with Lenox High School and serving as a captain and an All-Berkshire skier for Monument’s alpine ski team. He spends his summers working at the Stockbridge Golf Club, at the Stockbridge Bowl, and during the year runs a ski-tuning business. He is planning to pursue business and economics in college.
Hannah Roller
Hannah Roller is one of the top students in her class and has had a major impact on Monument’s school community through her leadership as a trained facilitator for Restorative Justice and Youth and Adult Transforming Schools Together.
She is a founding member of Monument’s SAAB Steering Committee and Academic Advancement Sub Committee and as co-president of Monument’s Student Government. Hannah earned the George Eastman Young Leaders Award from the University of Rochester at Monument’s junior awards ceremony last June. She has represented Monument at the Great School Partnership School Redesign Conference in Rhode Island and in San Diego with a group representing Berkshire Hills, and she has presented to the School Committee, school administrators, faculty, and students on how to improve Monument’s approach to student learning. She is a member of Monument’s National Honor Society and a volunteer for Best Buddies, a three-season varsity athlete and captain of the Cross Country team and Swimming teams, and plays varsity lacrosse.
Hannah was part of a group of students who traveled over school vacation to the Dominican Republic to volunteer in the Dominica School and Orphanage. She works every summer and weekends with her family business, Samale’s Deli and Catering. Beyond her academic program at Monument, Hannah has also participated in a number of independent studies in the humanities and spent the summer of her 11th grade year in an independent study with the director of research at Austen Riggs and the Ericksen Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy. Hannah is interested in pursuing neuroscience in college.
